Westward, ho.

Hey friends, I’ve been working a plan for a while, and it’s gotten to the point where I can talk about it publicly, so I figured I’d mention: I intend to leave Chicago around the end of September. I’m headed toward Colorado, and I anticipate landing in the Denver/Boulder sort of area. I don’t know … Read more

The Violent Life and Death of Notorious Rogers Park Rapper Young Pappy

Tales from my neighborhood. Two men died after bullets intended for the rapper hit them. The killers didn’t miss the third time. Click here for the full article Posted from Facebook

There was a satanic ritual abuse scare in my neighborhood back in the ’80s

Back in 1984, in Rogers Park, Chicago, there existed (and still exists today) a Jewish preschool on Touhy Avenue, the street where I currently live. It happened that a woman was picking her four-year-old daughter from school, and as they were walking through the hall, a janitor tried to tickle the little girl, and the … Read more

‘Creepy’ Severed Deer Head Display Baffles Visitors to North Side Beach – Rogers Park -…

My neighborhood is weird. A partially decomposed, severed deer head with antlers was found stuck on a bamboo stake — resembling a sort of morbid scarecrow — at Loyola Park Beach Monday. “I was up there on the sand and I thought, ‘What in the heck is that? Is that a real deer head?’ ” … Read more

The disappeared: Chicago police detain Americans at abuse-laden ‘black site’

“Homan Square is definitely an unusual place,” Church told the Guardian on Friday. “It brings to mind the interrogation facilities they use in the Middle East. The CIA calls them black sites. It’s a domestic black site. When you go in, no one knows what’s happened to you.” Exclusive: Secret interrogation facility reveals creeping aspects … Read more

My first chili cookoff …

The friendly Irish pub in my neighborhood hosted a little chili cook-off last night.  Naturally, I assumed it was to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3, but apparently it was really about some kind of sporting event. I felt pretty good about my entry, but alas, it seems that … Read more

Pop up dinner

We celebrated my buddy Eric’s birthday with a fancy pop-up dinner here in Chicago.  Good fun with interesting people. via Facebook

ISIS Claims to Have Beheaded Captive American

So, I didn’t know James Foley personally, but he and I had some friends in common. He graduated from the same journalism program as I did, just before I started. His public execution by Islamic fundamentalists is yet another glaring example of the harms that religion does to the world. The animals who killed this … Read more

Gambling on horse races.

Out at Arlington.  I managed to win a few bucks, too.   from Facebook via IFTTT